Had he said yes because he actually wanted that? It seemed unfair now. Asking something like that right after making love is like asking a question someone who was half-asleep or slightly drunk, he couldn't think straight at such moment. It wasn't until a couple of hours had passed that Will started to actually think about the issue.

They didn't have to move to Hannibal's house. He said they could buy a new house, in Wolf Trap if so he wanted. A quiet place, maybe not as far away from the city as his current residence but he wouldn't mind that.

- "What do you think, Buster?" He asked as he patted the dog's head.

The dogs seemed to be pretty comfortable around Hannibal. Every time he came to visit them they started waving their tails excitedly as they did when they saw Will after a long day. They considered him part of the pack now, he was part of the family. On the other hand, he wasn't sure how Hannibal would feel living with them. Animals didn't bother his partner but would he let them stay inside the house? Letting them go in and out whenever they wanted, they would be playing around living room, fluttering around him in the kitchen waiting for something to drop on the floor, sleeping on their bed with them from time to time...

They weren't puppies anymore so they weren't going to scratch the furniture or chew on his ridiculously expensive shoes. The only problem would be dog hair all over the place. Even if they had a big back yard where they could play and run all day Will didn't like the idea of leaving them outside all day. That was almost the same as marginalizing them. Hannibal would insist on getting them out when they had people coming over and he wouldn't discuss, that was understandable.

But what was he supposed to do when their house was invaded by snobs? Hide? He could deal with them but not every single time Hannibal wanted to arrange an uppity party.

Every question he asked to himself only made more doubts pop out in his mind. Little things maybe, but everything was summing up, becoming larger and larger.

He took the phone, he needed to talk to someone besides his dogs about the whole matter.

Spacious; at first glance looked like a nice place but some details of the architecture disgruntled him. It felt weak, neither homely nor imposing. It was hard to pick one place that met the necessary points. None of the houses he had visited that day felt like them.

He was following the real estate agent without listening to his threadbare speech. If he actually managed to find the correct place it could have been the scene of a murder for all he cared, he didn't need to hear details or the anecdotes of previous owners.

Of elegant but natural appearance. Countrified but not unsophisticated. Located in a quiet, rural place but not a farm house. Art Nouveau was off the table. Did something like that even exist? Not in Wolf Trap. Not around.

A nice facade, richly decorated with stone, wood, ceramics, plaster, he could also picture small tiles. Stained glass windows, elaborate gates, crafted woodwork like style furniture... Was he going off at a tangent? A Provençal chalé was on his mind now.

He could work on the interior design if there were details that couldn't satisfy his intricate taste. Maybe Will would enjoy the handiwork if it was necessary or at least he wouldn't oppose to that if he could picture himself living there. But the base was of course as its name indicated, essential, and so he needed find the right one for it.

- "Thank you, that would be all. I'll consider this place." He cut short the man's words, he was tired of him. The sound of his voice was tedious.

- "Of course." The other replied, slightly relieved not to have to continue speaking.

Things were getting unexpectedly complicated. When he proposed Will to move with him he didn't though it would be that way.

If someone had asked him in the past if he could see himself in the same position where he was now, it would have never crossed his mind that he would actually be looking forward to that moment. Was he giving away his privacy? It didn't feel like that. He wasn't the one who shared, unless... unless it was for someone he actually cared about. It had been such a long time since he felt like that, he had forgotten the feeling.

Traveling was another affair he was anxious to share with his lover. Could it be a better experience with company? He often asked himself that. He was curious about how his partner would react too. He wondered what expression would appeared on Will's face when he witnessed the wonders that the world had to offer for the first time. Would his eyes shine with the same intensity as when they kissed? Will I be jealous? Will I be happy?

Would his lover allow himself to submerge into that adventure? If Hannibal had money to spare, why not enjoying it with the one he loved? Of course, he didn't want to say it in front of Will, not with those words. Will could consider it cocky. His doggery would convince him that he was being treated like a sugar baby. And he was especially sensitive to that topic after what that student of him said on her blog. So the expected response was that he would get offended. Do you think I'm a mutt who needs to be rescued? That was something Hannibal imagined he could say. I don't see you that way, Will. Although that's how you perceive yourself at some level.

The dogs could become a problem or Will would turned them into an excuse to reject his proposal... And that was another thing he couldn't say aloud in those terms. Alana could take care of them, she share his love for animals, though perhaps not at the same extent.

- "You two have been dating for quite a long time, I don't see any problem with that."

Thank god they were still friends. No one else besides Alana was going to listen to his problems without judgment or give him wise counsel. Despise their fail attempt of a date things were good between them. With another person friendship would be awkward, they would start to avoid each other surreptitiously and eventually lose all contact, but with Alana that wasn't the case and Will would be eternally grateful to have a friend like her.

- "I'm not surprised though," She continued. "I've always thought of you as the kind of guy with commitment issues, no offense."

- "None taken." He replied slightly annoyed, taking another sip of coffee. Did he have the problem with getting into serious relationships or people had a problem with him? "But I'm not that kind of guy, that's not the problem."

- "What's the problem, then?" Her eyes looked at him deeply. She was pushing him to go into places of his mind where he didn't feel comfortable. But he had to face it, that was the only way.

- "I... I don't want to ruin it." I always do.

Usually, when he got to close to someone, they stepped aside. It was easier to push people away before they did that to him. That was a rather juvenile behaviour but somehow it felt safer. He didn't want to draw Hannibal away.

She reached out and lay her hand on his.

- "Why do you think you'd ruin it, Will?"

Reluctantly he rejected her gesture of support, drawing his hand away and refusing to look up at her face. Slowly he shook his head.

- "You can tell me." She sighed. "Why did you call if you don't want to talk? I can't help you if you don't let me know what's going on."

- "... He will get tired of me."

Noticing the aura of discomfort that surrounded his lover was getting easier and easier to Hannibal. Will was avoiding eye contact even more than usual, only short answers came out of his mouth and he wasn't eating at all, he was simply playing with his food as if he were expecting to find a solution to his problems on the plate.

- "I could try and help you, but there's no much I can do if you don't explain me what is happening."

- "There's nothing."

- "Doesn't look like it"

Will took a deep breath and covered his mouth with his hand. He usually did that when there was something he didn't want to say, trying to find an easier way to express his thoughts as he made time with the gesture.

- "Why do you want to live with me?" His smile attempt to show looseness but his evasive eyes were a clear sign of concern mixed with annoyance.

The question didn't surprise Hannibal.

- "Why wouldn't I?"

- "Don't you think that the closeness could be an annoyance?" His voice trailed off.

Hannibal didn't look at him, he knew what he meant.

-"You were the one who say that wanted us to become closer first. I'm not trying to reproach you, I just want to know what changed. You feel I'm pushing you, perhaps?"

I wish I had a clear answer.

-"I know what I said and I don't regret it." His answer was firm despite his unsteadiness about the topic. "I know you're trying to do the right thing but I feel like a burden. I'm still looking for another job but in the meantime I can't help feeling this..."

His lover reached across to table to hold Will's hand.

-"I knew this could be a problem for you, but it doesn't have to be."

Will bit his lower lip. Is not the only problem...

-"Hannibal... I'm not the person to do this. You don't want to live with me." He surprised himself by the rising tone of his voice. "You'll see me as a hassle, a nuisance, I know it. I will become something trivial. And I... I..." He felt he was losing his breath. "This is a mistake."

-"I disagree."

The ease with which he took his words brought forth a horrible mixture of feelings inside him. He could have stood up abruptly and flipped the table but... He also wanted to believe that his lover actually thought this was just what they had to do, what would make them happy.

-"Will, do I look like the kind of person who doesn't think things through before acting?"

-"No, but-"

-"Do you think I would've brought this forward if I thought such thing was possible? It wasn't a line when I told you that you are the most attractive person I've ever met. You don't cease to enthrall me. I can be capricious but I swear to you this is not a whim. I want to do this."

A faint smile curled on Will's lips, but he pursed them short after. His pride didn't let it show. Hannibal would know it anyway.

During the whole conversation he felt his chest was tight, there was a clasp on his heart, but now it turned into something different. A fluttering sensation, he felt he was thrilling.

-"Me too... I want to do it too."